Latest / Life with Bitcoin / Inside Tokyo Bitcoin Base | Life with Bitcoin in Japan
Transcript
- 0:00The life of a Bitcoiner can improve a lot if you understand this concept of a gambare,
- 0:08which is do your effort, proof of work, give your best.
- 0:13Looking forward for a guest.
- 0:17Looking forward to a guest to do an episode of Life with Bitcoin someday.
- 0:30Today we have a special episode on Live with Bitcoin at Tokyo Bitcoin Base.
- 0:40I'm really interested in learning what Japanese Bitcoin community is doing.
- 0:45Let's check it out.
- 0:46Come with me.
- 0:47Here we are, have a signature Satoshi statue in front of the Bitcoin sign.
- 0:55Today we have Alada-san joining us from the Tokyo Bitcoin Base.
- 0:58Alara-san, nice to see you.
- 1:00And then thank you for hosting us.
- 1:02Would you mind giving us a tour at the Tokyo Bitcoin Base?
- 1:05Let's go and take a look.
- 1:06Here we are at the entrance.
- 1:08We have the companies that have dedicated offices.
- 1:11You'll probably recognize some of the brands.
- 1:14The Tokyo Bitcoin Base is more than just a place.
- 1:17It's a living network.
- 1:19A hub where ideas meet purpose.
- 1:21Where education turns into inspiration.
- 1:24And where collaborations become the foundation for change.
- 1:28here is the place where we have activities networking events every first friday of the
- 1:37month we have tbb first friday people just hang around here we have some snacks on the table and
- 1:43you can talk about anything you like but this is the shop of tbb the souvenirs we have at
- 1:50tokyo bitcoin base and this is a partner shop called lightning base now of course you can pay
- 1:56involved with lightning. We have some not only some t-shirts but also some
- 2:03hardware wallets.
- 2:08This is a space where we have some gifts that are brought by visitors. We are all
- 2:15Satoshi.
- 2:17At Tokyo Bitcoin Base you can find a lot of information about Bitcoin from the
- 2:23latest issue of Bitcoin Magazine to the absolute classic, the Bitcoin standard.
- 2:28Here we have some books that have been translated to Japanese and many of them have been translated
- 2:33by Teruko Neriki. She is, for example, the translator of the VJ book, The Bullish Case
- 2:41for Bitcoin. Here is the co-working room. We have another co-working room for meetings.
- 2:47Behind you we have a gaming center where you can play ZBD games and earn Bitcoin as your prize.
- 2:56So when we have visitors, we encourage them if they have some time to get some console,
- 3:01we can play together and then we explain to people who are not very familiar with Lightning
- 3:06how they can redeem the Bitcoin at the end of the game.
- 3:10Okay, and here we have a very interesting model for a circular economy.
- 3:15the basic explanation is that with electricity you can be powering Bitcoin mining.
- 3:21Many people have a wrong concept a wrong idea that the use of energy by Bitcoin is harmful but actually it only makes sense to use energy that is not being used by other people so you can get it at cheaper prices or
- 3:37sustainable energy and even the heating and the gas that is as produced by as a byproduct can be
- 3:45used to improve the ecosystem and also be composting. So we have a full model.
- 3:54And didn't know there's an upstairs of the second plug.
- 3:57Yes, that's the place where we have some meeting rooms and also some of the companies have a
- 4:02dedicated office. And in November, we're going to have the Bitcoin Japan conference. So if you
- 4:07are able to come to Japan in 23 of November, we're going to have the Beagle. That's the Dev Day
- 4:15event, very technical. You can only buy your tickets with Bitcoin Lightning. The 24th of
- 4:21November, we're going to have Bitcoin Japan. This is more for a wider public, people who are
- 4:27interested in Bitcoin as a way to protect your savings, people are interested in investment,
- 4:32in corporate treasury investment strategies. And this event is going to be happening in the
- 4:40Tokyo Station Hotel.
- 4:44It is on the station of the Tokyo Station.
- 4:49Hundreds of thousands of people walk around there every day.
- 4:52And even if you do not have a ticket for the event,
- 4:55there's going to be the expo area that's going to be open for the public.
- 4:58And there's going to be many interesting things about Bitcoin,
- 5:01including Enup is going to be showing.
- 5:04Enup is a company involved in fashion.
- 5:06And they're going to be revealing their product line,
- 5:09that is related to Bitcoin, they can visit.
- 5:12They're going to be welcome.
- 5:14Also, in Japanese language, we have a panel of the history of Bitcoin,
- 5:20some of the events that are very important in Japan.
- 5:23But I can show you the panels over there in English language,
- 5:27along with the white paper.
- 5:29And here is our library of books that are related to Bitcoin,
- 5:35directly and indirectly.
- 5:36and you can just grab a chair and enjoy the books here.
- 5:41TBB Connections.
- 5:42TBB Connections is when we receive some very famous people in Bitcoin.
- 5:47We have an opportunity of interacting, talking to them.
- 5:50So people who are the tenants in offices here,
- 5:54they have free access.
- 5:56They can go there and participate.
- 5:58And that's another reason for you to join us
- 6:01if you are working with Bitcoin in Japan.
- 6:04so maybe you know this brand of coffee very special one being of fire directly from El Salvador
- 6:15and last year we received two copies very special ones that are signed by President
- 6:22Nayib Bukele and by Max Keiser maybe I have to turn on the lights here and this is the
- 6:31terrace the fourth floor we also have some spaces for companies to be working and we can have events
- 6:37here there is a projector that we have used a few times but this is a very social space just like
- 6:45the part outside it really great for doing some networking to meet people to have some drinks this place is gonna be full of bitcoiners during beetle 23 of november 2025 the dev day of the
- 7:03bitcoin japan i hope you can make it and come here and visit us how did the tokyo bitcoin base come
- 7:09to life in the conference that happened in japan last year in 2024 in bitcoin tokyo it was announced
- 7:18the project to have the space for Bitcoiners to be working together, to be collaborating.
- 7:24And that vision came true. In April of 2025, we had the grand opening. We had Bitcoiners coming
- 7:33from many different parts of the world. Samson Mao, we had Giacomo Zuko, and so many others who
- 7:39came here. It was a very nice event. What is the mission and vision behind the Tokyo Bitcoin Base?
- 7:45It's very sad that the historical events that took place in Japan are very strongly influenced by Mt. Gox.
- 7:55Bitcoin in Japan at that time was a really big thing, but many people got hurt,
- 8:02and some of them, they thought they would not want to be part of this anymore.
- 8:07to add to that problem.
- 8:10We had seen many different other occasions
- 8:13of different types of scams
- 8:15and other historical moments when people also got hurt.
- 8:20So for Japan,
- 8:22Bitcoin is something that many people
- 8:24don't immediately feel a strong, direct pain and urgency.
- 8:31It's a little bit of that analogy of the frog
- 8:34in the boiling water, right?
- 8:36is gradually increasing the temperature.
- 8:41People do feel that life is a little bit more difficult.
- 8:45Their purchasing power is not the same as it used to be.
- 8:49But for the average person, to connect the dots is not so easy.
- 8:53And I guess that if we just allow people to live their own lives
- 8:59and take care of their challenges, the work they have,
- 9:03and personal responsibilities, and on top of that,
- 9:06also discover and learn about Bitcoin.
- 9:10So having a physical space where people can actually visit,
- 9:15talk to people and see that it's really legitimate,
- 9:20learn about the philosophy, the values behind Bitcoin,
- 9:24this is something very important.
- 9:25It will really help improving the vision that people have about Bitcoin.
- 9:32But a physical space can also do all types of things.
- 9:35We can do networking, we can have people coming together, creating partnerships, we can do educational programs, training activities.
- 9:45There is a group from Thailand that is doing training for developers.
- 9:49The help that a hub can do to increase awareness and to do education, it is really going to make a big difference.
- 9:57How have Bitcoin changed you personally?
- 9:59I really like how C.V. D. Amos presents the concept of time preference in the book The Bitcoin Standard.
- 10:09I've always been interested in what I would say a long-term view of things.
- 10:15Since my teenage years I would get involved in projects that I knew nothing would actually come as a result as a benefit to me in the immediate moment
- 10:32but I knew it would indirectly help me to get to know people
- 10:37or help me acquire skills.
- 10:41And that is a type of a concept that has always resonated with me,
- 10:45and Bitcoin only makes that even stronger and more clear.
- 10:48The other aspect that Bitcoin has changed a lot is about meeting Bitcoiners.
- 10:55Because sometimes you meet somebody, also as a Bitcoiner, but from another country,
- 11:01and they come and they bring, they say something to you that really has a big impact,
- 11:06or the way they behave, it really is inspiring.
- 11:09So definitely the people.
- 11:12What's one Japanese phrase every Bitcoiner should know?
- 11:15What do you say when somebody is going to apply for a job or is going to present some important projects, like a big day?
- 11:27Good luck. That's what we use in English language.
- 11:31In Japanese language, we use gambare.
- 11:34and gambare is
- 11:37in a certain way like
- 11:39give your best
- 11:41put
- 11:42give your
- 11:43put your effort
- 11:45in a very good way
- 11:48right like
- 11:48and I think that
- 11:51helps a lot when it comes
- 11:54to bitcoin proof of work
- 11:56that we really
- 11:58value
- 11:59the quality of your preparation
- 12:02and the quality of your
- 12:04performance and the quality of your choices because of responsibility you will get whatever
- 12:11it is that you have put into it that's very different from wanting to have good luck or
- 12:19wishing somebody else good luck because that's a bit like random yeah depends on luck so i think
- 12:27that the life of a Bitcoiner can improve a lot if you understand this concept of a
- 12:34gamba-re, which is do your effort, proof of work, give your best.
- 12:40We've all been there, caught up in the rhythm of daily life, repeating familiar patterns. And Bitcoin,
- 12:47this complex, revolutionary world of its own, can feel distant when it lives mostly on our screens
- 12:54and code. But walking into a space like this makes it real. Here, every shelf, every event,
- 13:02every conversation is a reminder that Bitcoin isn't just a technology, it's a movement shaped
- 13:08by people. From newcomers learning their first sets to builders creating tools for a better
- 13:15financial future, the Tokyo Bitcoin base bring it all together. I'm looking forward to doing an
- 13:22episode here someday. A special thank you to Alata-san and the team for their welcome hospitality.
- 13:28This has been another episode on Live with Bitcoin. I'm your host, BTCBIT, and I'll see you in the next one.
- 13:36Let's actually do that. Let's actually, you give me a great idea. Well, you brought this out to
- 13:40yourself, but let's do it. Uncle Rockstar Dev, which one would you marry, kill, and which one?
- 13:46What's the other one?
- 13:47Oh, kiss.
- 13:49Kiss?
- 13:50Kiss, marry, kill.
- 13:51Kiss, marry, kill.
- 13:53Yeah.